News Desk Archives - Page 360 of 401

Regional Fed Prez Backs EW: TBTF Destroying US Real Economy

While we obviously have a slightly more wild style — and some differences in substance —

it appears that the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

agrees with the basic analysis expressed in our Feature today on

the lessons of the Fed Document Dump for the American economy.

Thomas M Hoenig argues that more must be done

to address a threat that remains increasingly a part of our economy:

financial institutions that are “too big to fail.”

Why Social Media Will Become an Integral Part of Every Organisation’s Sales Strategy

Over the past 2 years, we have seen a surge in activities across various social media platforms by companies big and small. Some of them use Facebook to extend their offline presence, such as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative called Chase Community Giving by Chase Manhattan Bank in the US. Others use Youtube to raise their brand awareness, such as the recent video clip showing flight attendants from The Philippine’s Cebu Pacific dancing to the tune of Lady Gaga.

Bundesbank: German Banks Reckless

The Bundesbank, the German central bank, said in its annual financial stability report that

German institutions continue to engage in risky practices that make them vulnerable to a rise in interest rates.

“Thanks to stable returns and improved capital, German banks have increased their ability to withstand risk,”

Andreas Dombret, a member of the central bank’s executive board, said at a news conference.

Google Faces Unwelcome Official EU Antitrust Scrutiny

Europe opened a formal antitrust investigation on Tuesday into accusations that Google had abused its dominance in online search,

exposing the company’s zealously guarded technology to unwelcome scrutiny.

The investigation by the European Commission follows complaints from smaller Web businesses,

which claim that Google downgraded their sites in its search results to weaken potential competitors for advertising.

Oracle Thumps SAP in $3 Billion Court Verdict

A clash of technology titans and two of the most powerful executives in Silicon Valley ended just before Thanksgiving

with a $1.3 billion federal jury award against SAP for stealing software from Oracle to try to woo away customers.

The award, the largest ever for copyright infringement, comes as big technology companies, including Apple, Google and Motorola,

Wikileaks Confirms EW Korea Argument re Refugees as Key

While we’re not overwhelmed by the whole Wikileaks “thing”,

a subject on which we’ll have a Feature shortly,

it IS nevertheless interesting that, re North Korea —

dubbed by people in the region as “The Black Hole” —

the argument we made yesterday — re the centrality for China of

avoiding a flood of hungry, jobless refugees coming across international borders,

Love and Money in China

A spate of Chinese films, plays and television shows have recently raised the question:

What is love in an age of breakneck economic growth?

Many personal stories seem to confirm that the ideal mate is the one who can deliver a home and a car, among other things; sentiment is secondary.

However widespread this mercantilist spirit, not everyone thinks it is a good thing.

MailChimp launches $1,000,000 USD API Integration Fund

MailChimp has launched a fund which will invest back into the programming community, potentially create a lot of goodwill and publicity for them, and benefit their product directly with yet more features. In turn this should make it even more useful for their ever growing list of members.

Insider Trading: Rumours Circulate Of A Big Story About To Hit Wall Street

Rumours are circulating in the press that a huge story may be about to break around a massive insider trading investigation conducted by the FBI.

Speculation has already begun on whether it will result in criminal charges or significant civil fines against Wall Street traders and executives.

One US government official – speaking on the condition of anonymity – was quoted as saying “We are far along in investigations of insider trading”.

North Korean Nuclear Tensions After Artillery Attack On Southern Island

There have been reports that North Korea and South Korea have traded artillery fire across the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) to the west of the peninsula in the Yellow Sea.

At this point, details are still sketchy. South Korean news reports have reported that around 2:30 p.m. local time, North Korean artillery shells began landing in the waters around Yeonpyeongdo, one of the South Korean-controlled islands just south of the NLL.